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Monday, March 17, 2008

When the vet was here last Wednesday night tending to Cary (who is doing fine by the way), I mentioned that she was our first ewe of the year to go into labor, and I hoped this wasn't a sign that we were in for a difficult lambing season. "Oh, I doubt it," he said assuredly.

"I mean, no offense, but I hope I never see you again."

"I understand completely."

With at least two dozen more pregnant sheep still to go, there's no telling how things will turn out this year, but ewe number two certainly went a whole lot easier than ewe number one. Late Saturday morning two-year-old Charlotte was making signs that she might be getting close to going into labor: hanging back in the barn, bleating, and being extra intolerant of the dogs. It's not uncommon for a ewe to be in labor for several hours, especially a first time mother.

But when I returned to the barn less than an hour later, she was already busy cleaning up her newborn baby girl. When I hiked back up to The Shack and reported to Joe that Charlotte's lamb was up and nursing, he said, "First time mother and she had it all by herself that fast with no problems?"

"Yep."

Then he pumped his fist in the air and shouted, "Yes!"

Now this is how things are supposed to be.

And we have lots more to come.

In the meantime, I desperately need to do some catching up. A lot has been going on. There are several cute new faces on the farm you haven't met yet, and I have a pile of recipes to share, including some cold weather comfort food favorites I'd really like to post before the cold weather is over. Think cozy soups and slow cooked Dutch oven dinners.

I still need to pick the winners from January's contests, and I have more fun books to give away. I'm also incredibly behind answering questions and replying to comments (thanks for your patience). And of course every day there are new stories and photos. It's shaping up to be a very busy spring around the farm, and I'm looking forward to sharing it all with you - hopefully soon!

16 comments:

Thank goodness lamb number two was easier. I hope this is good omen for the season! I'm sure I'm not the only reader of your blog that can appreciate how busy this season is for you. I was amazed that you already had a new post up! I'm sending you energy vibes, and if Pittsburgh were closer I'd be offering real help! Unfortunately I can only "help" from afar. Fingers and hooves crossed!

Nothing like the life affirming experience of those new babies. Love how your sheep have speckled babies - good week for birthing - not quite as cold and spring is definitely on the way! Looking forward to recipes updates, pictures of new faces on the farm and updates on new bakery/home deluxe! Love hearing your news but never let it be a burden - we appreciate peeks into your life.

I've been reading for a couple months (never posted a comment before) but wanted to tell you 3 things:

1 - I made scones this weekend due to your rapturous writings about them. I used buttermilk instead of cream (long story there) and they were awesome - even with half white/half whole wheat flour!

2 - 2 weeks ago I tried lamb for the second time. I hadn't liked it the first time (years ago) but I had a braised lamb shank that was to die for. Again - due to your writings about how tasty lamb can be.

3 - I have a question - how many sheep can you eventually raise? I know the boy lambs become dinner, and the girl lambs become mommy sheep. But if the flock grows by 50% each year that gets to be a zillion sheep pretty quick, no?

Thanks for all the writings. You make my desk job a lot more tolerable :)

Lammies!!! They are adorable, and such a good recovery after the near miss of Cary. Charlotte should be very proud of her self. I bet you will still worry until all have lambed. Speaking of cozy soups I made your Broccoli Garbonzo,Garlic soup. It was wonderful, and so simple. I give it five stars and two thumps up. My mom isn't a fan of broccoli but she really enjoyed the soup as well. It's a keeper for sure.

About those spots - they do disappear, don't they? We have Arthur, who is splotchy, and we are hoping (against hope) that he stays splotchy. There are a couple of spotted ewe lambs at the Farm and we might get one to go with my black Tooty Sooty if she would stay splotchy - what wonderful wool that would make!

January 2013 update: I know word verification is a big pain, but it's the only way I can stop the ridiculous number of anonymous spam comments I get every day. I don't want to require commenters to be registered Blogger or Open ID users because I know many of you aren't. Thanks so much for your understanding!

Hi! Thanks for visiting Farmgirl Fare and taking the time to write. While I'm not always able to reply to every comment, I receive and enjoy reading them all.

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